Aldrich Potgieter takes two-stroke advantage at Rocket Classic
Aldrich Potgieter birdied five holes in a row to break away from the pack and grabbed a two-stroke lead after the third round of the Rocket Classic. PHOTO: AFP
MICHIGAN – Aldrich Potgieter was the second-youngest golfer to win The Amateur Championship at 17 and the youngest winner in Korn Ferry Tour history at 19. Now, he is on the verge of his first PGA Tour victory at the ripe old age of 20.
Potgieter birdied five holes in a row to break away from the pack and grabbed a two-stroke lead after the third round of the Rocket Classic on June 28 at Detroit Golf Club.
The South African posted a seven-under 65, tied for the best round of the day, to get to 19-under 197. Five players are lurking at 17 under: Jake Knapp (66), Max Greyserman (66), Mark Hubbard (67), Andrew Putnam (69) and Chris Kirk (69).
Just three back at 16 under are Thriston Lawrence of South Africa (67), Michael Thorbjornsen (68) and Jackson Suber (69). Collin Morikawa shot 68 and is part of a tie at 15 under with Denmark's Nicolai Hojgaard (67) and England's Harry Hall (68).
In his rookie season, Potgieter has only made five cuts in 14 starts. But he has contended before: He fell in a play-off at the Mexico Open and tied for sixth at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
'It's quite different as an (amateur) playing in a big event as well. The leaderboard's so stacked,' Potgieter said.
'So when you're looking at amateur golf, a lot of guys are up there but there might be two or three guys within two or three shots, here there's six or seven. The guys are just really good out here.'
Potgieter holed out for birdie from a greenside bunker at No. 1 to jumpstart his round. The five-birdie run began at No. 4; he swept in a right-to-left 33-footer at the par-three fifth hole and spun his approach at the par-four sixth inside two feet.
Potgieter hit a 374-yard drive at No. 8 and sank an 11-foot birdie on his way to a front-nine 30. His putter cooled off on the back nine, where he made just one more birdie while staying bogey-free.
'That front nine really helped me to get through,' Potgieter said. 'A lot of par saves on this back nine. I felt like I had to stay in it, dig deep to kind of get through that. Didn't birdie the par-fivess, which is unfortunate, but yeah, should be a good day (Sunday).'
Playing alongside Potgieter, Hubbard rode the roller coaster all day, with nine birdies partially offset by four bogeys.
Hubbard, who joked that he is 'old enough to be (Potgieter's) dad, probably,' is nevertheless in the hunt for his first PGA Tour win at age 36.
'It's been too long for me. I think 2019 was my last win (on the Korn Ferry Tour), so that's a long drought,' Hubbard said. 'So more it's kind of proving to myself that I can. I know I'm good enough. And I'm not quite sure why it hasn't happened yet, but I know I'm doing a lot of good things right now.'
Knapp, who was coming off a course-record 61 on June 27, drew into contention by birdieing his final three holes, capped by a tight approach shot to two feet of the pin at No. 18.
Knapp will have previous experience winning on the PGA Tour on his side on June 29 (June 30, Singapore time), as will Putnam and Kirk, who were among three co-leaders entering the day.
Greyserman, though, falls in the category of would-be first-timer after notching three runner-up finishes in 2024. A top-50 player in the world rankings, Greyserman made five of his six birdies on June 28 on the back nine.
'Obviously, I had three seconds last year,' Greyserman said. 'I haven't played well this year, but doing a lot of things well, just kind of haven't been at the top of the board...
'I have that experience going into (Sunday), so rely on that, knowing that I'm playing well, got a good team around me, so I'm excited for (Sunday).'
Morikawa, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 5 in the world, leads the field in strokes gained on approach this week as he searches for his first win since 2023.
'If I can put together what I've seen over the last three days, hopefully I can make that special day happen,' Morikawa said. 'Look, I know what's at stake, I want to find a way to get it done.' REUTERS
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